Life in Castle Dedede
by Kojinka
Summary: Avina was a regular media technician at Nightmare Enterprises until she was called upon by Customer Service to assist a certain client in Dream Land to launch his own television station. As she gets to know her new supervisors better, she will wonder if they are really as mean and nasty as they make themselves out to be. (Dedede x OC eventually)
1. Chapter 1

From the private screening room in Castle Dedede, the self-proclaimed King of Dreamland and his assistant previewed content for the kingdom's upcoming television service. The king's scowl grew more pronounced with each passing ad and bumper on the reel, each of them resembling a Dadaist creation filled with loops, stutters, pitch shifts, and hue spectrum cycles. If he had clenched is fists any tighter, the gold on the arm rests of his throne would bend like clay from his grip. "WHAT'S ALL DIS SUPPOSED TA BE?" Dedede could no longer suppress his rage and yelled from the top of his lungs.

"I don't know," Escargoon said as calmly as he could to hide his fear. "But I'm sure the Waddle Dees will eventually get it together, Highness."

"We're tryin' ta brainwash the Cappies, not throw an epileptic disco rave!" Dedede grabbed Escargoon by the eye stocks and sped out of the screening room with the snail servant crying out in pain.

The King slammed a button on his armrest as his throne screeched to a halt in the middle of the throne room. The floor and ceiling in the middle of the immense room split open, and a platform rose from the floor as an array of wires and antennae descended from the ceiling. A section of the wall flipped over, revealing a giant monitor flickering on. "Hey, Triple D!" A sinister looking gentleman with green and purple hair wearing a formal suit and yellow sunglasses greeted the duo. "You're looking quite livid today!"

"Cut the smooth talk and send me a video editor!" Dedede snapped. "My TV channel launches in two days, and them Waddle Dees can't tell a chroma key from a piano key!"

"So much for pulling off this scheme without the help of that fast talking salesman," Escargoon, rubbing his eye stocks, muttered silently so the king wouldn't hear him.

"Well we specialize in demon beasts," Customer Service rubbed his chin. "But I believe we can lend you one of our technicians from our media department. For a small monthly fee of course."

"Well what're you waitin' for? Send him over!"

"I will send one of our editors over as soon as possible, your highness," Customer Service waved his hands nervously. "But unlike your typical demon beast transactions, NME employee relocation process takes some time."

"You thievin' con artist!" the king barked at Customer Service. "I need him now!"

"Are you sure this is necessary, sire?" Escargoon protested. "The Waddle Dees are fast learners." He flinched as soon as his boss raised his fist, threatening to pound him again.

"We ain't got time! They had their chance and they fluboozled it!"

"Keep your hat on, King," The salesman began to sweat profusely. "And I promise the arrangements will be made within the hour. Ta ta!" The monitor flickered off, leaving the impatient penguin fuming.

The rhythmic beeps of a cell phone filled the small dormitory aboard a space station many light years from Popstar. A long slender hand reached out for the phone that pierced her void of sleep. She stretched her limbs, groaning tiredly as she rolled out of bed and approached the small bathroom area to wash up for the day. Or maybe it was evening? In deep space, day and night all seemed the same. Once she finished dressing, she headed out the door with a breakfast bar in her hand. As she walked down the hallway, she heard someone behind her call out her name. She turned to join her co-worker and gossiped with him on their trek toward the tram that would take them to their workstations. Each day was the same routine, but she couldn't complain; the big boss would not tolerate insubordination. She was bracing herself for another normal day at the office when she received a call from a friend of hers in customer service. She dug out her cell phone from her pocket and pressed a button to take the call.

"Hey, Dan. What's new? …a favor? Sure, what do ya need? …what?! …You want me to work for him?!"

"…Okay," the disgruntled female sighed. "But I'm only doing this because I owe you one."

"I'll be there within the hour." She ended her call, groaning loudly. Out of all the video techs at NME, why did Dan choose her for this job? The likely explanation was that she was the only one he knew that would take such a gig. If there was such a thing as reverse karma, it just came and bit her in the rear. She sometimes wondered why she even bothered being nice.

"What was that about?" her co-worker asked.

"Oh, Dan just volunteered me to edit videos for his client in Dream Land."

"The bloated penguin?" The co-worker joked. "What in Nightmare's name did you do to deserve that?"

Fifty minutes later, Dedede and Escargoon were settled on the floor next to the throne, playing a game of cards. Escargoon played his hand and then Dedede proceeded to play his own, laughing heartily. "Is that all ya got, Slug?" The king held his cards out in front of his servant. "Read 'em and weep, creep!"

Escargoon eyed the cards skeptically. His boss' hand consisted of a bunch of random cards that would mean nothing in any card game. The truth of the matter was that it didn't matter what game they played because the only rule was that the king always wins. "I still say you're cheating," the unamused snail murmured regardless.

The monitor turned itself back on and Customer Service reappeared, grinning smugly. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Highness. Your editor is on the way."

"Took ya long enough!" the king crossed his arms with a huff.

A surge of electricity burst from the teleportation device, briefly blinding Dedede and Escargoon. Once their eyes readjusted as the flash dimmed, they made out the figure of a young woman with lavender skin and pointed ears, holding a couple handbags strapped over her shoulders. Her long, wavy hair was tied back in a ponytail, and was a very light blue that appeared almost white. She jumped off the teleportation platform and turned to the monitor. "Promise me you'll hold your end of our agreement?"

"Of course, but first, I believe some formalities are in order. Allow me to introduce you to his highness, King Dedede and his assistant, Escargoon. Your highness, meet your new editor!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty." the girl bowed. "I'm Avina, and I'm here to help get your TV service up and running."

"It's not polite to stare, Highness." Escargoon elbowed the king.

"It's the legs, right?" Avina placed a hand on her hip. Her legs were medium in length, and slender with little curveage. "Not very many life forms on this side of the galaxy evolved them for some reason."

"Avina is one of our top media technicians." Customer Service spoke while holograms showcasing various video clips appeared behind him. "You may recognize her work from various promotional items like these on our galactic satellite services." Dedede and Escargoon watched the clipshow in the background looking fairly impressed. "And since she is not a monster, no charge will be made to your account, with the exception of a small monthly fee, of course."

"Oh, I'm a monster alright," Avina grinned playfully. "Just not the demon beast variety that you sell!"

"Well now," the towering king approached the editor with a sinister grin. "Y'all think you're up for this colossomal task, girleh?"

"Bring it on, Highness," Avina returned the gesture with a confident smirk.

Dedede laughed. "The gal's got spunk!"

"Alright, missy, we got a schedule to keep," Escargoon snapped. "So keep the wise cracks to yourself and follow me!" Dedede and Escargoon led Avina out of the throne room as a caped figure watched behind a column from the shadows.

Customer Service bade the editor good bye with a smirk. "Go easy on D-Man and Escargoon, Avina!"

After a long descent to the studio in the dungeon, with the king outlining some rules around the castle and briefing the video editor on her task in his own self-absorbed fashion, Escargoon gestured to what appeared to be a rather dated PC in the corner. "All the footage is in that computer other there. If you need any assistance, some Waddle Dees will be standing by."

Avina scanned the studio, examining the monitors and switchboards, and eventually approached the old computer, staring at it skeptically. "That thing?"

Escargoon spoke quietly to the editor out of Dedede's earshot. "His highness is a tight wad when he's not splurging on monsters. Take it or leave it!"

'Good thing I brought my laptop,' Avina thought to herself as she laid her computer case on the desk next to the computer. "So, where will I be staying?"

"Say what?" The king raised an eyebrow.

"You did review the contract, right?" Avina sighed. She took out a print out of the form from her bag and read. "It states that the client must provide room and board for the Nightmare Enterprises employee for the duration that he or she serves the client on-site."

"Let me look at that!" Escargoon snatched the sheet of paper from Avina's hands to inspect the contract. "She's right, your majesty."

"WHAT KIND OF SHAMBOOZLE ARE YOU SWINDLIFIERS TRYIN TO PULL?" The king yelled.

"I don't make the rules, your majesty," Avina struggled to stifle a giggle. Dan mentioned the king's fiery temper, and she found the penguin's malapropisms, for lack of a better term, very amusing.

The king glared daggers. "Just for that wise remark, you can sleep on the studio floor for all I care!"

"Sire, I don't think—" Escargoon sighed as the king marched out. "I'll dispatch some Waddle Dees to prepare a room for you."

"You're a miracle worker, Escargoon," Avina plopped into the swivel chair at the computer. "How do you put up with that guy on a daily basis?"

"Samo makes a really good lemon drop in town."

"YA COMIN, ESCARGOON?" Dedede's booming voice echoed down the corridors.

"Coming, Sire!" the snail rushed out of the studio.


	2. Chapter 2

Avina browsed through the collection of videos; each clip more amusing than the last. She was almost in tears from chuckling so much on some of them. They were argually an improvement over the original raw footage in her eyes, and given the limitations in the software on that PC, some of the editing in the clips were quite impressive. She was highly tempted to share some of them on the Internet. The video editor was shaken out of her trance when a small voice greeted her. She shot around in her swivel chair and saw what resembled a solid pink Waddle Dee with a smiling mouth and less pronounced rosy cheeks. He gazed curiously around the studio with his bright blue eyes. "Hey there," Avina greeted. "Where did you come from?"

"Poyo! Poyo!" The puffball cheerfully bounced up and down. She wasn't sure who this fellow was or where he came from, but his limited speech suggested he was still very young. She looked around to see if there was anything in the room to entertain him with when she noticed him typing stuff on keyboard for the graphic generator.

She rushed over to the puffball. "Sorry, but these aren't toys." Avina paused for a moment to look at what the tyke typed out on the monitor. Amidst the cat like typing, she found what looked to be a line of dancing puffballs like him followed by a less than sign next to the number 3. She doubted he had any idea what they meant, but she found it cute nonetheless.

(insert a line of dancing ascii kirbies that will not show up properly)

Avina led the puffball to a chair next to her own at the computers and invited him to sit. "So, what's your name?"

"Kaabii!" the puffball raised his nubs.

Kaabii…Kaabii…Kirby? "And what brings you to the castle?"

"Tiff! Tuff!"

"Oh, are they friends of yours?

Kirby bounced on the chair. "Poyo!"

"I see. Want me to page them down so they know where you are?" Avina reached out for the phone when she heard a young feminine voice down the hall calling out the puffball's name. Kirby faced the door, looked back to the editor and hopped off the chair, waving goodbye.

"See ya around, kiddo!" Avina waved back as the puffball happily ran out the door.

"There you are, Kirby!" the young voice exclaimed in relief. "I was looking all over. Please don't run off like that again."

"Poyo!"

Avina strolled back to the graphic generator where Kirby's graphic was still displayed on the monitor. Feeling mischievous, she saved the puffball's work as "DDDgraphic," trying to hold back her snickering. It's not uncommon for a few amusing bugs and errors to show up on the first couple days of broadcast. As she clicked 'save,' another voice, much deeper and speaking with a Spanish accent dragged her back to reality. "If I may interrupt," The editor shot around and saw a masked figure in a dark blue cape standing in the doorway. How the heck did he get there without making a sound in that armor? Was he some sort of ninja? "You must be Avina correct?"

"Yeah," the editor answered slowly. "And you are?"

"I am here to show you to your room," the warrior stood stoic. "You may call me Meta Knight."

"Oh, uh, thank you, Meta Knight!" Avina bowed her head.

The knight turned his back as his cape billowed behind him. "Follow me."

Avina followed quietly through the winding castle corridors, wondering to herself how she'd find her way around the place. "I do not mean to pry," Meta Knight broke the silence. "But how long have you been working for NME?"

"Uh…" Avina thought long and hard but was unable to come up with an answer. "I'm not sure to be honest; I don't remember much prior to my life at Nightmare Enterprises."

"Is that so?" Meta Knight pondered as his golden eyes shifted to an eerie green. Avina was a little unsettled, but decided it was best not to ask. Finally, they arrived at a door on the third level. It was a bit of a hike from the studios in the dungeon, but Avina didn't mind; she figured the exercise wouldn't hurt. Meta Knight unlocked the door and handed her the key. Avina took a moment to look around her new room; it was a bit larger than her one-room apartment in the NME space station. She laid her bag of personal belongings onto the full-size bed and strolled over to the large window. The view of Dream Land was breathtaking! She could not remember the last time she had seen natural sunlight and blue skies, apart from the occasional footage she'd work with on a computer screen; the fresh air and warm beams of natural sunlight bouncing off her body felt so soothing. She turned back to thank the knight, but he had already vanished. 'Talk about rude,' she thought. At least the little pink kid was courteous enough to say goodbye.

* * *

That evening King Dedede peeked in the door to the staff kitchen and found Avina sitting at the table with her laptop, glancing every so often at the pot on the stove. He felt his stomach growl; whatever she was cooking smelled really good, but he wasn't going to admit that to this new editor. He decided to step in and mess with her a little. "Slackin' off, I see?"

Avina turned away from the stove and saw the king leaning on his arm against the doorframe grinning smugly. "Your Majesty," she stammered. "What brings you down here?"

"Just thought I'd stop by and see how you were coming along."

"If you must know," she stated flatly as she resumed stirring, "I'm a third of the way through. I'm just taking a lunch break."

Dedede raised an eyebrow. "At 6:30 in the evening?"

"I was so engrossed in my work today that I didn't eat anything around noon."

"What?" the self-proclaimed king couldn't fathom the idea of missing a meal. "Man, you artsy types are weird!"

"Aw, your so sweet sire," she smirked playfully.

Dedede grew even more confused. "That wasn't meant to be a compliment."

"I know, but I take pride in being weird because normal is boring!"

"Okay, now you're starting to weird me out."

"Oh, sorry," Avina saw the king growing uneasy so she toned down her quirky side a little. He was clearly not used to being around someone who was not afraid to return his jabs, at least not in her way. "Want some chili mac? Though I'm sure a man of your status has special chefs on staff that are more highly trained than me."

"Yeah, but they're all off tonight," the king scratched the back of his head, looking annoyed.

"Food's almost ready, and my offer is still open if you're hungry," Avina smirked.

Dedede grumbled and approached the stove, staring at the food dubiously. "This ain't gonna make me all kookoo like you, is it?"

"Sire," Avina chuckled as she spooned some chili mac into a bowl. "I bought all my ingredients from the convenient store in town. I highly doubt they'd sell anything that would make people 'kookoo like me.'"

The king frowned. He didn't want to trust this loopy editor, but a king's gotta eat. Figuring he had nothing to lose but his sanity (and let's be honest, Dedede didn't have a whole lot of sanity in the first place), he seated himself at the table and sampled the bowl in front of him. His eyes widened briefly; it wasn't too bad, but he wasn't going to admit that to this know-it-all editor. "Eh, it's better than the slop my substitute chefs make at least."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Avina said dryly.

Dedede proceeded to scarf down the rest of his bowl. He held his beak in the air and crossed his arms when it was empty. "Hand me some more!"

"Oh, so you _do_ like it." She said playfully.

"I never said that!"

Avina responded with a smirk. "But you wouldn't be asking for seconds if you _didn't_ like it." She knew she probably shouldn't be pressing the king's buttons, but he was so much fun to mess with. And she didn't mean any harm or disrespect with her playful jabs. It was just how she was.

"I don't like it!" He shouted. Then he muttered more quietly, "But I don't hate it neither."

"Okay. So you're indifferent about my cooking. I'm cool with that."

"Yeah, whatever. Now dish me up some more! I'm hungry!"

She gave him a look. "What's the magic word?"

Dedede was growing sick of the editor's attitude. "Who are ya, my mother? Gimme more of that stuff before I smack ya in the noggin!"

Avina rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure the king wouldn't follow through on his threat, but she realized she was pushing her luck, so she just served him another helping. She barely knew Dedede, but Dan gave her a good heads-up about him, so she knew better than to expect good table manners from him. For a grown man he could be quite childish and stubborn.


	3. Chapter 3

Today was Channel DDD's premier, and Avina was awakened that morning to a knock at her door. She had been working around the clock the last couple days with little rest, determined to meet her deadline and pushing herself to the point where Escargoon grew concerned for her health. After submitting the rest of the finished clips, she spent the rest of the previous day making any necessary changes to them, as ordered by Escargoon, and teaching some Waddle Dees how to run the equipment in the sound booth. All she wanted to do this morning was catch up on some sleep. She crawled from her bed to answer the door and was greeted by Captain Waddle Doo holding a clipboard in his nubby arms. Standing next to him was a Waddle Dee holding a big cardboard box with big letters spelling "TV" on it. "By decree of his majesty, the King, every household in Dreamland is to receive a complimentary television set for the launch of Dream Land's first TV service."

"Is that so?" Avina said tiredly with a level of skepticism. "Well, tell him I said thank you."

"Broadcast starts at noon." Waddle Doo saluted as the Waddle Dee handed the box over to the video editor.

Avina nodded as they made their leave and closed the door behind them. She hoisted the heavy package onto the table and eyed it dubiously. Just how much of a fool did the king take her for? She got a sneak peek of just about every programing Channel DDD had to offer. As far as she was concerned, she had better things to do than watch that tubby tyrant's pretentious propaganda. "Might as well open it," she sighed after staring at the box. She had no intention of watching for any extended length of time, but she didn't want to seem disrespectful.

As she looked over the unit, Avina spotted two infrared sensors. What kind of TV was this? Upon further inspection, she noticed that one of the sensors resembled the webcam on her laptop. Did the king intend to to spy on his subjects? She had been living under a similar regime with NME for as long a she could remember, and given the sort of clientele they usually served, she wouldn't be surprised if Dedede was attempting such a set up.

That afternoon Avina sneaked into the dungeon where she found the king and his lackeys in what resembled a surveillance room filled with TV monitors showing the Cappy families settled in front of their sets, seemingly enjoying the garbage that Dedede called 'entertainment.' Her hunch about the second sensor on the TV sets was right. She ran back to her quarters with a mischievous grin curled on her lips; she was going give Big Brother a show he'd never forget.

"Time to put part B of our plan to action, Escargoon!"

The snail cringed. This was the part he was dreading most. He was about to follow his boss' lead when a waddle dee tapped him on the shoulder. "What is it?" he snapped impatiently. The waddle dee pointed to one of the monitors on which they saw Avina performing an interpretive dance in her underwear. Escargoon cranked his head up to the monitor and dropped his jaw in shock.

"Escargoon, you're on in—" The king stormed back in, shoving a few waddle dees in his path, and froze in his tracks upon seeing Avina's provocative dancing. "What the heck is she doin?" If there had been a pole in her room, she'd probably be spinning all around it. He kept watching with his jaw agape until the editor pulled out a big poster sign that read 'What are you looking at, pervs?' and held it over her midsection, throwing a dirty look toward the camera on her TV. She stuck her tongue out and placed a sticky note on top of the lens so they could no longer see her. The king's face turned beet red with rage. "The nerve of that gal!"

"Forget about her, sire," the snarky snail said. "She's not our target audience anyway."

Avina threw her clothes back on, snickering as she imagined the look on the king's face. Never before had she felt like she could express her disdain for governmental invasion of privacy and possibly get away with it. She resumed watching the fighting robot program when she got a call from Dan. "What?! You guys witnessed my little practical joke?!" Avina exasperated a rough sigh. She couldn't say she was too surprised; just a little annoyed that NMEs gaze could reach that far so inconspicuously. "Thank you for letting me off with a warning, Dan. You're a pal."

Avina pressed the end button on her cell phone with a groan. Totalitarian oppression even from a thousand light years away. Lovely! On the bright side, NME employees didn't have to pretend to like the company's policies, but active protest against them or questioning the will of Nightmare himself had dire consequences. The program was suddenly interrupted by a 'news bulletin' of a 'monster' attacking Dream Land. It looked nothing like any monster she was aware of in NME's catalogues, and the 'live footage' looked faker than a 1970's 'Globzilla' film!

"Kaaabiii Kaaaabiiiiii"

"You heard it! That critter's headed our way 'cause it's lookin for Kirby!"

Kirby? Did he mean the little pink tyke that visited her the other day? What would the king have against him? He seemed like an okay kid. Another 'RAWR' from the 'monster' made the video editor burst into another fit of laughter, drawing the attention of Meta Knight who was rushing down the hall. "Is there something funny?" the knight asked.

The grinning video editor turned toward the knight and pointed to the television set. "Who is King Dedede trying to fool with a monster like that? You can see the zipper!" A heavy silence grew between the video editor and the knight with the only sound coming from the television set. Surely, none of the citizens of Cappy Town were going to fall for such a phony looking monster, right?

Meta Knight bolted out of sight without saying a word. Avina stared in confusion into the empty doorway. "Did I say something wrong?" Oh well. Might as well watch the 'drama' unfold.

"All of Cappy Town is doomed unless Kirby goes away!"

The king winked and a swirly background appeared as he began chanting "Kirby must go away," in a hypnotic monotone voice.

"Pft! If you're going to brainwash the unsuspecting general public, you need to be less obvious about it!"

Moments later she heard voices down the hall repeating the king's chants in a zombified trance, and a knot began to form in Avina's stomach. Do the people actually believe this is all real? She worked for one of the largest propaganda machines in the galaxy for as long as she could remember, but she hadn't considered the possibility that many folks out there have probably never even seen a television set until today. She suddenly felt terrible. Avina had had enough of the king's blatant misinformation, and turned the TV off. Sure, she was involved in tons of material of similar nature at NME, but she rarely watched any of the actual broadcasts in her free time.

Many minutes passed as she played on her GBA when a familiar voice startled her.

She paused her game and turned to see Meta Knight at her door. She laid her GBA off to the side and invited him in.

Meta Knight stepped in and made his questions brief yet to the point. "What do you know about the king's broadcast?"

Avina told Meta Knight about the surveillance room next door to where she worked. "As for the monster, I don't really know. But I'm sure there are other parts of the studio I have yet to see. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a whole set of miniature models somewhere down there."

"I see," Meta Knight's eyes turned green again and he ran off.

"You're welcome," Avina rolled her eyes. She stepped out her door to see where the mysterious knight was heading. She saw him stop at a door down the hall, and paused to listen to the conversation he was having with two younger sounding voices. She saw him and Kirby rush out with a young blonde girl with a ponytail and a younger boy with teal streaks in his hair. The door was left open; perhaps the kids' parents were still there? She figured it wouldn't hurt to introduce herself to the neighbors, so she approached the open door and knocked.

"Oh, are you back already?"

"No," Avina walked in. "I just moved into the room down the hall and I wanted to introduce myself." A dignified middle-aged couple sat together in front of the TV set up in the corner of their family area. "My name is Avina, and I was hired by the king to do some video editing for Channel DDD."

"Ah!" The silver haired gentleman replied cheerfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my dear! I am Prime Minister Sir Ebrum, and this is my lovely wife, Lady Like."

The lady next to the prime minister spoke. "Please, come in!"

"Thank you." Avina sat herself a few feet away from the couple.

"So you made all this?" Sir Ebrum pointed to the destructive scene on the television set.

"Well, I did the bumpers, promos, and commercials, but the waddle dees are doing most of the live stuff."

"Look!" Lady Like gasped. "It's Kirby!" The young puffball appeared on screen, looking gigantic amidst the buildings.

"Just as I suspected," Avina said to herself.

The scene cut to Dedede and Escargoon in their tank with the king yelling when the young girl appeared in the frame shouting, "Kirby proved your monster battle is bogus!" The picture went snowy. Just when it was finally getting interesting! What a killjoy!

The signal returned a few minutes later with a shot of the king looking beat up and dazed. The camera panned along the trashed studio and the young girl talking about the monster hoax. But Avina was more shocked by how quickly they wrecked the set. They were only off the air for a few minutes. "Do your kids do this on a regular basis?"

"Exposing the king's schemes?" Sir Ebrum inquired. "Why, yes."

No wonder he's always so grouchy, but that still didn't explain what he had against Kirby.

"This is all a king sized misunderstandin! Any events and situations depicted on Channel DDD are purely fictional!"

Nice try, but at this point, you might as well just say you would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling kids and that pink puffball.

Dedede and Escargoon proceeded to perform a cancan dance on screen, which was abruptly cut off by the color bars.

Really? He even slapped his dopey mug on the test pattern?! This king really does have an ego the size of his belly.

Channel DDD got off to a pretty good start, at least for every part the video editor was involved in. Her next course of action was to seek an audience with the king and request a nicer computer with professional grade editing software. She would continue making any new promos or bumpers as needed, and work with the waddle dees to teach them a few techniques and effects. Once they got the basics down, she'd be ready to return to NME.

"How much are we talking?" Dedede eyed the video editor.

Avina ran through her calculations for the average price of top-of-the-line software along with a computer with enough power to run it.

"That's the amount you guys charge for monsters on special! Ya think I'm gonna trust that much money on those incompetent dumdums?"

"You underestimate the Waddle Dees. They've been handling the live editing, and are doing quite well."

"I don't care if they can push a few lousy buttons in the sound booth! My answer is final! Escargoon?"

The snail servant escorted the video technician out of the throne room, speaking softly out of the king's earshot. "Sorry, his highness is still sour from their first attempt. Try asking him again in a few months or maybe a year."

Avina sighed irritably. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to her supervisor at NME. "Better keep emailing me any new jobs that come along. Looks like I'm gonna be here for a while."


End file.
